1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to connectors for joining winding conductors of a dynamoelectric machine, and more particularly, to means for electrically and mechanically connecting two water-cooled stator half coils in a turbine generator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Coils for use in many large dynamoelectric machines, e.g., large turbine generators, have often been formed as a "bench" or subassembly operation and then assembled into the slots of the stator or armature. Often each slot contains a plurality of coil sides and the ends of each coil side extend beyond the length of the slot. To complete a coil, coil ends must be bent so that one coil side which lies in the lower portion of one slot can be joined with the other side of the coil which lies in the upper portion of another slot.
To overcome some of the problems such as coil breakage caused by bending the end turns of the coil, "half" coils or coil sides are often used. In such a half coil construction, each half coil is still formed as a "bench" operation and then assembled into the stator or armature slots. However, in conventional practice the half coils are electrically connected at their ends by conductors which have been soldered into ferrules attached to the half coil water header caps.
The soldering of the conductors into the ferrules must be performed after the half coils are assembled into the slots. The soldering process, performed after coil assembly, is laborious, slow, and often introduces impurities into the joint which cause poor electrical integrity. Because of the time required to heat the joint to an adequate temperature and due to the close proximity of the joint to adjacent insulation systems, much care is required. These disadvantages cause extensive delays in the next stages of assembly of the dynamoelectric machine since further assembly cannot be performed until the joints have passed selected non-destructive tests.
A coil connector which is intended to avoid some of the disadvantages previously mentioned is an "H" shaped apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,423. This connector eliminates the need for the coil-to-conductor joints, but it does so while incurring: (1) increased chance for coil damage, and (2) increased difficulty in bending and moving the relatively inflexible half coils into the holder.